The Lord was gracious in blessing us with an amazing friend group, where we first got to know each other. Over some Catan games, Culver’s trips, and pickleball, it became evident that Gabe needed to ask Emily for a walk. Gabe quickly realized that the task of asking Emily for a walk was harder than expected, as she was tied at the hip with her friends.

Eventually, Gabe prevailed in getting a walk with Emily, which turned into a three-hour walk all around Orange City on a chilly November evening.

Over the next few months, the Lord provided a series of trials for us, which provided the clarity that we could not see our lives without each other.

Most importantly, we continued to see each other’s hearts for Christ and others, which made us fall deeper in love. On top of that, we cultivated a friendship that we knew would last for a lifetime.

What followed was a summer of long-distance, which turned out to be a time of deeper growth and love for each other. Emily took a service trip to Ireland in the summer, which was 6 weeks of not much communication due to the time difference. However, this would lead to us realizing we could not live without the other. So, Gabe began planning his proposal.

On top of that, Gabe was originally planning to come back to NWC to finish his senior year, but discovered an opportunity to enroll early in chiropractic school near his hometown in Portland. We talked it through over FaceTime and realized the Lord had opened up a chance for us that we could not pass up. So, we took on more long-distance. This extension of long distance turned out to be one of the best things we could have asked for, as it allowed us to get to know each other's hearts more as we continued toward marriage.

In September of 2025, during a trip to visit Emily at school in Iowa, Gabe proposed. Emily said yes, and we began planning our life together!